United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, speaks to the media, Friday, March, 28, 2014 at U.N. Headquarters. The Secretary General said that Russian President Vladimir Putin assured him that he had no intention of making another military move into Ukraine following the annexation of Crimea. (AP Photo/Jamie Castro)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin assured him he had no intention of making another military move into Ukraine following the annexation of Crimea.

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin echoed the U.N. chief, saying Putin made clear in a March 18 statement that there was not going to be any new Russian move into Ukraine. He accused unnamed countries of “trying to artificially whip up the atmosphere of international crisis.”

The new Ukrainian government and the West have voiced concerns about a possible invasion into pro-Russian eastern and southern Ukraine following Moscow’s buildup of its troops near the border.

Ban and Churkin spoke to reporters after the secretary-general briefed the Security Council Login to read more